DBM opposes e-sabong revival

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman expressed her opposition to bringing back e-sabong or online sabong operations, noting that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. ‘s revenue remains strong without it.

“As of now, Pagcor’s revenues are high [and] very efficient without, right? Without this, without e-sabong, [and] the subsidy [Pagcor] gives is huge,” Pangandaman said on the sidelines at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum on Wednesday.

READ: As Pogos exit, ‘e-sabong’ revival raised at House

Pangandaman said that they have to discuss the revival of online cockfighting with the economic managers. Members of the Development Budget Coordination Committee are set to discuss the economic agenda this month.

Revenues of Pagcor went up by more than 30 percent to P89 billion in the second quarter, driven by the impact of policy reforms introduced last year.

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Pangandaman also noted that the revenues from the e-sabong operations are not included in the revenue assumptions for next year’s budget.

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According to Pagcor, it generated P6.2 billion worth of e-sabong revenues from April 2021 to April 2022 alone, however, for Pangandaman, that amount is small.

“The P6.2 billion is small. That’s small. The Department of Finance can [raise] that,” she said.

READ: Villanueva warns reviving ‘e-sabong’ far worse than Pogo

Pagcor chief Alejandro Tengco recently mentioned that the agency is considering the revival of e-sabong operations, provided there is an improved framework and set of regulations. However, some senators have opposed this move, arguing that e-sabong is even more problematic than Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators which was banned by the Marcos administration.

Operations of e-sabong were halted by the former President Rodrigo Duterte in May 2022 due to the disappearance of at least 30 people allegedly linked to industry.

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